Reginald Cummins
| residence = Kew, London | education = | affiliation = Royal Air Force | profession = Pilot | rank = Squadron Leader | father = | mother = | siblings = | marital = Single | spouse = | sigothers = | others = | firstseen = ID4: Official Novelization | lastseen = Independence Day: War in the Desert }} Reginald "Reg" Cummins is a RAF Squadron Leader who fought in the War of 1996. Biography Background Cummins lived in Kew in London. After joining the Royal Air Force, Reginald traveled in Israel and visited Jerusalem during his three-month leave. He participated in the Gulf War where his actions accidentally lead to the deaths of British and American soldiers during a botched bombing run. His superiors forgiven him due to being under the stress of battle. Thereafter, Reg became an instructor with the Queen's Flight and Training Group, Mideast section, and trained many of the Royal Saudi Air Force's best pilots. He was affectionately given the nickname "Teacher" by his Saudi trainees. He even befriended one of his trainees, Khalid Yamani. War of 1996 In July 1996, Cummins was stationed at Khamis Moushalt Airfield in Saudi Arabia during the arrival of the City Destroyers. Reg tried to lighten the mood with his fellow officers dealing with the impending invasion by playing billiard. Their game ended when their commander, Group Captain Whitley, informed them that he need a volunteer in escorting a flight of in-training Tornado pilots to Kuwait after every nation in the region closed down their airspace and denying them the right to land in the wake of the invasion and due to acts of open hostility between the nations. Cummins immediately volunteered despite Whitley's reluctance due to his past history. After being shortly chased by Syrian fighters, Cummins managed to reach to the Tornadoes and informing them that they have to make a detour due to hostile airspace. As they made their pass near Jerusalem, they witnessed the City Destroyer deploying its weapon that entirely destroyed the holy city. After being shocked by what just happened, Cummins briefly joined with other Middle Eastern pilots in a futile attack on the City Destroyer which its energy shield protect itself against their missiles. Cummins was then forced to regroup with the little surviving remnants of the British Tornadoes as alien fighters began to annihilate human air forces. With little fuel left, Cummins tried to escort the British pilots along with other surviving Middle Eastern pilots to Khamis Moushalt. After entering into Saudi Arabia, the group received communication from Whitley, who informed them that alien fighters are approaching Khamis Moushalt. Realizing that the airfield is doomed, Reg led the survivors away from Khamis Moushalt and into the Rub' al Khali much to the chagrin of the pilots. When one Egyptian pilot disobeyed his order and attempted to land at Khamis Moushalt, Reg was forced to shoot the pilot down from leading the aliens to the air base. Their situation worsen as fighters began to ran out fuel and drop from the sky until they finally managed to land at an oil-drilling station manned by the Saudi military. But Cummins' jet abruptly consumed its fuel, causing him to safely bail out before his jet crashed. Cummins' stay at the makeshift encampment was uneasy and tense as it was shared by many international pilots and military personnel, who shared ethnic grievances and traditional rivalries against each other. This forced the pilots to balkanzied themselves into national groupings and kept to themselves to avoid any violence while being monitored by the Saudis who were uncooperative with them, even from those who came from countries allied with Saudi Arabia. Cummins was happy to be reunited with Khalid Yamani, who was there with his family and several important Saudi officials. He was also introduced to Khalid's sister Fadeela. That night, Cummins and some members of his British contingent were summoned to a meeting with Saudi Commander Ghalil Faisal to discuss about the aliens and plan for a counterattack. Cummins voiced his disapproval of a direct assault against the alien forces and considered it to be suicide due to the aliens' force-field technology, and advised the coalition to hold back and wait for the right moment to strike. Cummins' words won out, but Faisal points out that if the aliens send a City Destroyer to Mecca, then he is obligated to have Saudi forces and their allies to defend the Holy City no matter the cost. Cummins, however, saw Faisal's decision to defend Mecca was a sake for his own personal glory. Cummins also brought up that Faisal will be obligated to shoot down any deserters. Faisal freely admits his intentions, but also revealing that it is no different from Cummins' choice to shoot down the Egyptian fighter from earlier and recalling his past actions in the Gulf War, therefore discrediting Cummins and firmly preventing anyone from withdrawing from Faisal's proposed counterattack. On July 3rd, Cummins finds out that his fellow pilots were considering to desert with some of the coalition members. He was against this until the Saudi's radiomen received the news of the Americans' renewed counterattack proposed for July 4th. This was met with skepticism from Commander Faisal. But Cummins trusted in the Americans' plan and make a successful, stirring speech to the coalition to follow U.S. President Thomas Whitmore's plan. The next day, Cummins and the coalition pilots engaged against a City Destroyer approaching Mecca. But prior to the engagement, Faisal ordered his forces to engage the City Destroyer minutes before the proposed time for the counterattack. Reg tried and failed to convince the Saudis to break off their attack, but he noticed that Faisal refused to join in the engagement. Realizing he is deserting his own men, Reg relayed the news to Khalid and some of the other Saudis, allowing them to fall back. After the Saudis initially failed to penetrate the ship, confirmations from the Americans confirmed the aliens' shields are disabled, allowing the coalition to finally fight back. Cummins and the coalition pilots managed to destroy the ship's main weapon and causing it to crash in the desert outskirts. Post-War Memorable Quotes Appearances *''Independence Day: Official Novelization'' *''Independence Day: War in the Desert'' Behind the Scenes *Reginald was based on a minor character named Alec Kingsley in Independence Day who was portrayed by Jim Piddock. Category:Characters Category:Independence Day: War in the Desert characters